title: Structure of rat behavior in hole-board: I) multivariate analysis of response to anxiety.
abstract: Aim of present paper was to carry out an analysis of rat behavior in hole-board following different multivariate approaches. Thirty male Wistar rats were observed in a hole-board apparatus and their behavior recorded for 10 min through a digital videocamera for a following frame-by-frame analysis. Both descriptive and multivariate analyses were used. Descriptive analysis showed that roughly 85% of the whole behavioral structure encompassed six patterns appearing during the first minute of observation: walking, climbing, rearing, immobile-sniffing, edge-sniff and head-dip. As to multivariate approach, cluster analysis showed three main dyadic associations: [edge-sniff/head-dip], [walking/climbing], [face-grooming/body-grooming]. Path diagram, obtained on the basis of relative frequencies of transitions among behavioral patterns (stochastic analysis), emphasized cluster analysis results. Adjusted residuals confirmed, from a statistical point of view, the strong relationships among specific patterns. Results demonstrate that immobile-sniffing has a crucial role in rat behavioral organization and head-dip is closely related with edge-sniff which is suggested to be a specific sniffing activity of holes edge never properly considered. Present research shows that multivariate approaches, revealing patterning among different behavioral elements in hole-board, could improve test reliability, providing a more useful tool to investigate behavioral effects of anxiolytic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Medicine, Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy. m.casarrubea@unipa.it
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Casarrubea
authors.forename: Filippina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sorbera
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Crescimanno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D006120:Grooming; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013269:Stochastic Processes